International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security

국제컴퓨터통신보호논문지학회 (International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security)
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An IoT-Aware System for Managing Patients' Waiting Time Using Bluetooth Low-Energy Technology

  • Reham Alabduljabbar (Information Technology Department, College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University)
  • 투고 : 2024.03.05
  • 발행 : 2024.03.30
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초록

It is a common observation that whenever any patient arrives at the front desk of a hospital, outpatient clinic, or other health-associated centers, they have to first queue up in a line and wait to fill in their registration form to get admitted. The long waiting time without any status updates is the most common complaint, worrying health officials. In this paper, UrNext, a location-aware mobile-based solution using Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) technology, is presented to solve the problem. Recently, a technology-oriented method has been gaining popularity in solving the healthcare sector's problems, namely the Internet of Things (IoT). The implementation of this solution could be explained through a simple example that when a patient arrives at a clinic for her consultation. There, instead of having to wait in long lines, she will be greeted automatically, receive a push notification telling her that she has been admitted along with an estimated waiting time for her consultation session. This will not only provide the patients with a sense of freedom but would also reduce uncertainty levels that are generally observed, thus saving both time and money. This work aimed to improve clinics' quality of services and organize queues and minimize waiting times in clinics, leading to patient comfortability and reducing the burden on nurses and receptionists. The results demonstrated that the presented system was successful in its performance and helped achieve high usability.

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과제정보

The author would like to thank RSSU at King Saud University for their technical support. Also, I would like to thank Rawan Bin Madhi, Hind Medan, Nada Alaqeel, and Munira Alsubaie for their contributions to the implementation of the UrNext system.

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